10/27/2023
Something that is ran into often at truck stops is posts, but the second most thing run into is drivers that don't know what the max weights are for their Front, Drive, and Trailer Axles.
The front axle should be at the most for an 80,000 lb. max vehicle 12,000 lbs.
The middle or drive axle should be at maximum 34,000 lbs.
The rear axle should be at a maximum 34,000 lbs.
Should your truck be over these weights in any way, slide your tandems. If the weight is over on the front axle, most trucks today allow you to slide the 5th wheel. Don't do this of you don't know how. But sliding the wheel back will take weight off the front.
If you are over on the middle or drive axle, then you need to slide your tandems forward, this will put more weight on the rear of the trailer and lift it off of the 5th wheel slightly.
If you are over on the rear axle, then slide your tandems back toward the rear and that will put more weight on the middle or drive axle.
If this doesn't fix the issue, take the load back to the shipper, let them know what the problem is and what you tried to do to fix it. An experienced loader will be able to help you rearrange the load so that you can scale out and balance the load. DO NOT TAKE A LOAD THAT IS UNBALANCED. It is not worth the ticket.
